'The cost of flying to Prayagraj has gone up six times due to the Kumbh Mela.'
The significance of the Maha Kumbh Mela, for countless believers, is that taking a dip in the sacred waters cleanses them of all sin, liberates them and their ancestors from the cycle of rebirth and leads to spiritual liberation or Moksha.
No wonder, the Uttar Pradesh government expects 450 million people to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.
Unfortunately, those who wish to travel to Prayagraj discover that it is not easy to take a train or flight to the city of the Sangam.
The tickets are either exorbitantly priced or simply not available as booking on this sector is at an all-time high.
The Maha Kumbh Mela began on Paush Purnima, January 13, this year and will conclude on Maha Shivratri, February 26.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Anil Galgali, Right to Information activist who mailed the civil aviation ministry and also tweeted about the high fares deterring those wishing to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Why are flights tickets priced so high?
The government did a great campaign on the Maha Kumbh Mela across India by stating 'Chalo Kumbh (Let us go to Kumbh)'. Everyone wants to go for it so the flight tickets are now exorbitant. The situation is so bad that a round trip from Mumbai to Prayagraj costs up to Rs 70,000.
Are the airlines allowed to charge such exorbitant fares?
I have complained about this to the civil aviation ministry. I have e-mailed the details of surge pricing by airlines. The Government of India has the power to cap the ticket cost if it rises exorbitantly.
The cost of flying to Prayagraj has gone up six times due to the Kumbh Mela.
I have not got a response so far from the government, but I heard that the civil aviation minister has told airlines that they should not increase the flight cost to Prayagraj.
The government should have taken a stance earlier but they did not do anything so I e-mailed them about this issue.
Some 11.5 million people went to the Maha Kumbh on January 26. What can the government do if such large numbers go to Prayagraj?
That has got nothing to do with the ticket price. I have never seen flight tickets to any destination cost seven times more in my lifetime.
The government has the power to curb such indiscriminate ticket pricing by airlines.
The government has added 81 more flights to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh Mela, taking the total number to 135, and still there is more and more demand on this sector. What can the government do if more money is chasing fewer tickets?
I can understand this theory of demand and supply but it can at best double the price.
There is nothing to complain if the ticket price to Prayagraj doubles but then if you raise it seven times then obviously it is going to pinch everyone.
What about the airports around Prayagraj? Are the tickets to those places also high?
Yes, the Mumbai-Lucknow return flight costs Rs 56,000, and one way it was Rs 28,000.
Even to Varanasi the flight cost is exorbitant, the one way cost anywhere between Rs 26,000 and Rs 28,000.
Can the Government of India issue a diktat to the airlines not to increase ticket prices to Prayagraj?
The government can order airlines not to increase ticket prices exorbitantly.
The dream of this government was that Hawai chappal waley hawai jahaaz mein (people wearing rubber slippers must travel in planes).
The government can fix the maximum and minimum airfare. The government can also reduce taxes on tickets to benefit people who want to travel to Prayagraj.
What is the situation with trains?
It is just as bad as flights because it is impossible to get a rail ticket to Prayagraj.
No flight or train tickets are available to reach the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Try booking a train ticket to Prayagraj and you will find it is impossible.
By road too there are restrictions so you cannot travel easily to the Maha Kumbh. One has to walk a lot to reach the spot.
The government should have got special trains to Prayagraj, this is the least they could have done.
Has the government failed in the logistics?
They have not planned well for the Maha Kumbh Mela as the number of people traveling to Prayagraj is huge.
People are traveling in hordes and the common man is suffering to reach the spot.
VIPs hardly have to walk there but the common man has to walk 15 km to reach the spot.
But what can the government do if 450 million people are expected to travel between January 13 to February 26 for the Maha Kumbh Mela?
They should have planned properly by arranging more flights, trains and buses.
They are inviting everyone to the Maha Kumbh Mela but when people reach there you cannot say they do not have the resources to manage as 45 crore (450 million) people have come.
And here, the moot problem is reaching the Maha Kumbh Mela has become next to impossible for the common man.
And if you a one way ticket from Mumbai to Prayagraj costs Rs 35,000, the load will obviously be on trains and roads for which too the government has not provided any special provisions to reach.
I too want to go, but I am unable to go.
Why?
The ticket cost for February 24 from Mumbai to Prayagraj is Rs 24,000.
Till February 26 the ticket to Prayagraj from any destination in India is huge and suddenly from February 27 you see there is a drop in prices.
So the government must intervene and check if there is black marketing going on.
In this scenario how can the slogan 'Hawai chappal waley hawai jahaaz mein' be fulfilled?
Therefore, the government must intervene to reduce the air ticket price.
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